jazzburger Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 I'll try not to treat this as a counselling session - honest. I lived in London in the 80's and I bought an Aria Pro II RSB Deluxe bass (candy apple red with gold hardware) and little Ohm practice amp. I started out the wrong way - I wanted to slap 24/7 and be Mark King. I only had a few bass lessons but I wasn't focussed enough to practice properly or even figure out what I wanted to do on bass. I rehearsed with a couple of soul bands and a rock band but gigged very little. A Trace Elliot head (yes, I really wanted to be Mark King) came and went as did the loaned speakers, the fretless twin to the fretted Aria and a Precision copy that a mate 'just gave me'. I moved back to Manchester and rehearsed a lot with some very talented blues and rock players but, again, very little gigging. The Aria sat in its bag for ages. Just recently, I recalled a time in London when I often visited a mate who had a Fender Mustang bass which I could not put down whenever I was round there. With that memory in mind, I just ordered a short-scale Ibanez bass which looks like I always wanted a bass to look and has the short scale that I hope will let me play all the stuff I used to play but, more importantly, let me learn some proper technique without hurting my old hands. I'm 62 - will I go out gigging? Probably not. Will I record something? Likely. Will I enjoy having a bass back in my hands? I am hopeful. Nice to meet you. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Welcome JB. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Welcome jazz b ☝️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 (edited) Welcome back to the world of bass. I too started playing in the 80's - in Cardiff though, not London - the Manics weren't even well known outside of South Wales back then! I always liked the look of Aria basses, I must say. Had a Fender P and a Shaftesbury Rick copy.... then a Westone Thunder Jet. Back then, everybody I knew, either wanted to be Mark King, Steve Harris, or JJ Burnel - so don't worry about wanting to play slap all the time.... apart from mates into Punk, Rock & Heavy Metal - a lot of folk did... even some of the Punk, Rock & Metal bassists It's a shame you never got to gig much. Personally, I really enjoy it, and with several different genres of band, I play very different locations & venues, to very differing crowds (sometimes only a handful of people at a folk gig - but if one person comes up at the end and says they enjoyed it.... that's fine). That all said, I probably didn't gig frequently enough in my youth. I had an absence from playing of about 25 years - so you're never too old to start gigging - maybe just try an open mic night, with pals? Re your mates Mustang bass - maybe short scales are for you? Or maybe it was just set-up "right" and was one of those basses that just sat right in your hands? I always prefer to play a bass before buying - so It's a shame that we can't get out & about to guitar shops, and to try each others basses in the For Sale section here.... but there are worse things about Covid, of course Hope you enjoy the Short Scale Ibanez - play it as much as time allows, and enjoy. Welcome to BC, and again, welcome back to bass playing "Hwyl Fawr" from South Wales Edited February 24, 2021 by Marc S 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Welcome mate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzburger Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 7 minutes ago, Marc S said: Hope you enjoy the Short Scale Ibanez - play it as much as time allows, and enjoy. Welcome to BC, and again, welcome back to bass playing Thank you Marc. I definitely take the point about 'try before you buy' and I've read things about noisy bridge pickup and scratchy controls and suchlike. I've taken the plunge now and as long as the courier doesn't wreck my new toy, March could be an interesting month... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Good afternoon, JB , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Hiya JazzyB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 Welcome aboard! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickJ Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Love the user name Welcome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnPatroller Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 On 24/02/2021 at 14:05, Marc S said: I always prefer to play a bass before buying - so It's a shame that we can't get out & about to guitar shops, and to try each others basses in the For Sale section here.... but there are worse things about Covid, of course This. I had to take a leap of faith when I bought my Jackson online last year - I got lucky and I could tell it had been the right move as soon as I got it in my hands for the first time. I got it from Andertons in Guildford because I wasn't going to let those corporate bar stewards at PMT (unfortunate name, that) have my money. But yeah .. Welcome to you, Mr Jazz. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzburger Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 (edited) 54 minutes ago, MHMSWC#03 said: I got it from Andertons in Guildford because I wasn't going to let those corporate bar stewards at PMT (unfortunate name, that) have my money. But yeah .. Oh dear, my order is with PMT. So far I'm not impressed. I've been waiting a month and I had to ask twice for a price match. Thanks for the welcome - and the warning. Edited March 16, 2021 by jazzburger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnPatroller Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 24 minutes ago, jazzburger said: Oh dear, my order is with PMT. So far I'm not impressed. I've been waiting a month and I had to ask twice for a price match. Thanks for the welcome - and the warning. Which store? I have a mate who works at the Birmingham branch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzburger Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 4 minutes ago, MHMSWC#03 said: Which store? I have a mate who works at the Birmingham branch. It would have been Manchester, but they don't have the bass in stock so I had to order centrally. Pain because Thomann now has it cheaper and available now. Poo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.